Refrigeration and carbonation unit



Sept. 30, 1952 R. E. PARKS REFRIGERATION AND c'ARBoNATIoN UNIT 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed Nov. 10, 1947 CH/LLED CARBON/475D WA TER INVENTOR.

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R. E. PARKS REFRIGERATION AND CARBONATION UNIT Sept 30, 1952 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. l0, 1947 Rz'jIFR/GERANT our F/ AVOR A /N FLA VOR B /N WATER ouT (To CARB ONA TOR REFR/oRA/VT f1. A VOR C /N FLAVOR A ouT FL A VOR B our FLAvoR C QUT WATER /N INVENToR. /eys f. Par/rs 9L @a/uf ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 30, 1952 g 2,612,357 REFRIGERATION AND cARoNA'rIoN UNIT Regis E. Parks, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Spacarb, Inc., New York, N.'Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 10, 1947, Serial No. 785,097

'11 Claims.

Ihe present invention relates to a device for the refrigeration of the materials `utilized in the make ing of mixed drinks such as, for instance, water and syrup, and the carbonation of Water for .use in such drinks.

yObjects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and .in part will be obvious herefrom, or .may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The `accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of thel drawings:

Fig. 1 is a 'vertical cross-sectional view, taken along jline vI---I of Fig. 2, of .a typical and illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view partly top plan and partly cross-sectional taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 3 vis la detail View of certain of the coiled tube elements shown in Figs. 1 and 2 detached from the assembly; and,

Fig. f4Y is a detail View of certain other coiled tube yelements shown in Figs. 1 and 2 detached from the assembly.

The invention has for an object the provision of a relatively simple and compact unit comprising mechanism for efficiently rcooling the materials which are combined to form mixed drinks and yfor carbonating and keeping cool the water used i-n such drinks. The invention is particularly adaptable for use in the making of soft drinks involving the mixing of carbonated Water and syrupfandjprovides an eflicient, sanitary, com- -pactand ltrouble free mechanism for cooling and keeping cool immediately prior to dispensing the syrup and carbonated water, as well as carbonatingv the'water under refrigerated conditions and maintaining for immediate'use an adequate supply of Athe carbonated Water. Still another object is the lprovision of a cooler-carbonator Which may be ,easily and efiieiently handled for installation and repair and which, although of Wide general application, Ais particularly useful for drink dispensersof a portable type where a loose or free 'water cooler or carbonator is troublesome and unsanitary.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative em- Abodiment of the invention shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings, the invention comprises a compact unit adapted to cool one or ,more ,drink avors orsimilar ingredients prior to Vdispensing or mixing, to cool water prior to, during and after its carbonation, and to carbonate Water for admixing With the syrup `and maintain .an adequate supply of .cooled and carbonated water on hand at all times. As best vshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the unit comprises an illustratively cylindrical metallic casting or block vIIJ of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, for instance, into which are yc ast refrigerant, water and syrup tubes in ,a definite reationship and in the center of which there is provided'a carbonating and water storing mechanism Which may, if desired, also be cast into the block I jil.

As shown, three tubes are provided for refrigerating three syrups, for instance, ,prior to their mixture with carbonated water as a drink, said tubes being designated by the numerals I I, I2 and I3 in the drawings. These tubes are designed ,to carry and refrigerate separately `three different avors such as designated in the draw.- ings A, B and C respectively, and are arranged adjacent each other and parallel in a single spiral series within the casting I0, adjacent the central well I4 thereof which accommodates the carbonator I5, land are provided with entrancey and exit ports at the top of the casting. The entrance ports for the syrup Atubes II, 4I2 and I3 are shown in Fig. 2 as ports I6, Il and lI8 respectivelyar-y ranged at equal distances from the axis of casting I0, vand suitable fittings I9 may be associated with the tubes and cast in the casting whereby lead-in tubes may be conveniently connected.

The syrup tubes I I, I2 and I3 are 'substantially identical in formation and each, Ias shown in the case of tube I2 in Figs. 1 and 3, extends downwardly for a short distance from the top of casting I0 and then is formed spirally along thelength of the central well I4 of the casting. From' the bottom of such spiral length a linear reach 2,0 extends directly to the exit port 'for the respective tube at the top of the casting, said exit ports being shown in Fig.'2 as 2|, 22 and 23 arranged at equal distances from the axis of the casting It .and angularly removed from their respective entrance ports I'B, I1 and I8. The exit ports vare likewise preferably provided with ttings I9 to facilitate connection with tubes rleading tothe 'dispensing nozzle or nozzles of a beverage lvending device,

The refrigerant and water tubes 25 and v,26 respectively are arranged parallel to each other, .but spaced to prevent freezing, in a pair of .spirals 3 cast in the block I toward the outer extent of the radius thereof, the water being thus conducted in heat exchanging relationship with the refrigerant and the latter being positioned t0 abthrough ports 21 and 28 respectively provided with.

suitable fittings I9, and below said ports the tubes 25 and 26 are formed parallel to each other and in descending and ascending spirals of different diameter along the length of the Well I4, returning to suitable exit ports 29 and 30 at the top of casting I0. The tubes 25 and 26 are substantially identically formed and, as shown in the case of the refrigerant tube 25 in Figs. 1 and 4, each comprises a radially inner spiral extent extending to adjacent the bottom of the casting I6 and a radially outer spiral extent 36 of greater diameter leadingback tofthe top of the casting and its exit port, said extents being joined at the bottom of the casting by the integral, substantially horizontal length of tubing 31. The refrigerant and water tubes are thus each formed as connected, overlapped spirals, and it Will be noted that the closer tube extents of the respective spirals of different diameter carry unlike ma,- terial, that is, all extents of `a water tube in each such spiral lies more closely adjacent to the extents of a refrigerant tube in the other spiral than they do to the extents of a water tube. This staggered relationship of the ascending and descending spirals of parallel refrigerant andwatertubes further increases vthe heatexchanging properties of the unit. Y

From the exit port 29 the refrigerant is returned to the compressingmeans (not shown),`

and from the exit port 36 the chilled water is conducted by a tube 38 to the carbonator I5 the major portion of which occupies the central well I4 of casting I6. The carbonator as herein illustratively shown is of the'instantaneous type in which carbon dioxide gas and Water are mixed to maintain a constant volume kof carbonated water regardless of draft, and is generally similar in construction andl operation to that disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,401,916 of June 1l, 194,6, to C. V. Di Pietro, to which reference may be had for a full description thereof. Such carbonator c0111- prises a cylindrical shell 40 positioned within the central well I4 of theV casting I and with its external surface in intimate contact with the walls of said well for maximum heat conduction, which may be effected by making the casting with the shell in place. A bottom wall 4I is secured to the shell 46, `and a header y42 is removably secured to a flange 43 at the top thereof by means of bolts 44.

A cylindrical stand pipe 45 is positioned Within the shell 4D an intervening annular chamber being thereby formed the upper part of which is filled with wool 46 formed of strips of material such as stainless steel, said wool being supported upon an annular plate 47 secured to thestand pipe 45. The plate 4l is spaced from the shell 4D allowing the passage of carbonated water to the lower portion of the annular chamber between the shells, andthe inner shell or stand pipe 45 is provided with apertures 48 adjacent its loWer edge for passage of carbonated water into the storage chamber Within stand pipe 45. v

The header 42, preferably made of plastic or some other non-conducting material, is formed with a carbon dioxide duct 50 to which such gas is conducted from a source, and with a Water duct 5I to which chilled water is conducted through tube 38 from the outer spiral of the cooling tube 26. Said ducts empty into a shallow, annular recess 52 accommodating a diffuser ring 53, and gas and water are therein and through the wool 46 intimately mixed to form the carbonated Water for the reservoir within said pipe 45. The Water is drawn off to the drink mixing nozzle or nozzles by means of a tube 54 extending to near the bottom of the reservoir and communicating with a central duct 55 in the header 42, and a pair of electrodes 56 and 57 are positioned in the reservoir and secured to conductors through header 42 in order to maintain a predetermined carbonated Water volume in the reservoir, as fully described in said Patent No. 2,401,916.

The invention in its, broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom, within the scope of the Vaccompanying claims, withoutrdeparting from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:

l. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell embedded axially in said mass and for substantially the full length of said mass, spirally formed Water and refrigerant tubes embedded in said mass surv rounding said carbonator spaced from each other and said carbonator, and a spirally formed drink ingredient tube surrounding said carbonator and embedded in said mass between said rst tubes and said carbonator and spaced from said first tubes and said carbonator.

2. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell embedded axially in said mass and for substantially the full length of said mass, spirally formed Water and refrigerant tubes embedded in said mass surrounding said carbonator spaced from each other and said carbonator, and a plurality of spirally formed drink ingredient tubes surrounding said carbonator and embedded in said mass between said first tubes and said carbonator and spaced from said first tubes and said carbonator.

3. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell ernbedded axially in said mass and for substantially the full length of said mass, water and refrigerant tubes each formed as a pair of connected spirals of diiferent diameter one said spiral positioned within the other embedded in said mass Surrounding said carbonator, and a spirally formed drink ingredient tube surrounding said carbonator and embedded in said mass all of said tubes being spaced from each other and said carbonator.

4. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell emvtioned within the other embedded in said mass surrounding said carbonator, and a spirally formed drink ingredient tube surrounding saidl carbonator and embedded in said mass lbetween said rst tubes and said carbonator all of said tubes being spaced from each other and said carbonator.

5. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell ern.- bedded axially in said mass and for substantially the full length of said mass, spirally formed water and refrigerant tubes embedded in said mass surrounding said carbonator, said tubes befing of the same diameter and parallel to each other whereby water and refrigerant tubes are positioned adjacent each other in heat exchanging relationship, and a spirally formed drink ingredient tube surrounding said carbonator and embedded in said mass between said first tubes and said carbonator.

6. A device of the type described comprising, in combination,` a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell embedded axially in said mass and forsubstantially the full length of said mass, spirally formed water and refrigerant tubes embedded in said mass surrounding said carbonator, said tubes being of the same diameter and parallel to each other whereby Water and refrigerant tubes are positioned adjacent each other in heat exchangand outer spirals for each of said tubes, the inner y and outer spirals vfor the water tube being ofthe same diameter vas the corresponding spirals of the refrigerant tube and parallel thereto, refrigerant spirals being radially adjacent water spirals, and a plurality of parallel, spirally formed drink a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical tube, and a plurality of parallel, spirally formed drink ingredient tubes surroundingsaid carbonator and embedded in said mass between said first tubes and said carbonator.` f

10. l'A device of the type described comprising,

in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator, comprising an 'elongated cylindrical ,l shell eine bedded centrally and axially in said mass and for f substantially .the full length 0f said mass, in`- dividual conduits for water, refrigerant and a drinkingredient also embedded in said mass said water conduit discharging :into said carbonator, said conduits being spaced in said mass from each yother and from said carbonator and positioned radially outwardly in said mass from said carbonator, said refrigerant .conduit surrounding said carbonator along substantially the entire length thereof in said mass, and said water and drink ingredient `conduits extending substantially the entire length of said carbonator in said mass.

l1. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, acarbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell embedded centrally and axially in said mass and for substantially the full length of said mass, individual conduits for water and refrigerant also embedded in said mass said `water conduit discharging into said carbonator, said conduits being spirally formed, surrounding said carbonator along substantially theentire length thereof in said mass, positioned radially outwardly in said ingredient tubes surrounding said carbonator and embedded in said mass between said first tubes and said carbonator.

8. A device of the type described comprising, in combination, a metallic mass, a carbonator comprising an elongated cylindrical shell embedded axially in said mass and for substantially the full length of-said mass, parallel water and mass from said carbonator, and spaced fromy each other and said carbonator, and a plurality of drink ingredient conduits embedded in said mass spaced from said carbonator and said other conduits, said drink ingredient conduits each having equal spacement from said carbonator.

' REGIS E. PARKS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent: y

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 695,041 Fues Mar. 11, 1902 1,702,565 Foster Feb. 19, 1929 1,737,347 Wilson Nov. 26, 1929A 2,142,856 Lieb et al. Jan. 3, 1939 2,337,783 Thompson et al. Dec. 28, 1943 2,391,003 Bowman Dec. 18, 1945 2,401,915 Di Pietro 'June 11, 1946 2,442,801 l Di Pietro June 8, 1948 2,466,676 Boling et al. Apr. 12, 1949 2,498,524 v Booth Feb. 21, 1950 

